Traditional Leadership and Governance in Contemporary South Africa (original) (raw)
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D espite constitutional provisions for traditional leadership in South Africa, traditional leaders have not been clearly recognised since the advent of democracy in 1994. Yet centuries ago, this type of leadership served as part of the history of the natives. In underscoring governmental functions, the 1996 Constitution makes provision for the three spheres of government, namely, national, provincial and local government. However, in some provinces such as KwaZulu-Natal, the king receives a substantial amount of funding from the provincial government in order to run the affairs of his kingdom. In such cases, standardised guidelines, accountability mechanisms and roles are not clearly stated for all traditional leaders in South Africa. In making sense of the role of traditional leadership in South Africa, a qualitative research in the form of focus group discussions was undertaken with the traditional leaders of the Greater Sekhukhune District Municipality. The purpose of this article is to understand the role (relevance and contribution) of traditional leadership in South Africa during the post-1994 democratic dispensation. The issues raised by these traditional leaders are that the current democratic government has reduced them to the role of preserving cultural heritage and does not include them in socio-economic activities; hence these traditional leaders are regarded by some sections of society as irrelevant.
Traditional Leaders and the Culture of Governance in South Africa
Governance, 2011
The global neoliberal economic and political order impregnated the emergence of democracy in South Africa. One of the hallmarks of this order is that the capacity of the state to transform society is constrained, particularly in the rural hinterlands. The incapacity of the state to extend its grip, both economically and politically, has provided traditional leaders with an opportunity to both recast themselves as intermediaries between state and society and elevate themselves to decision makers on behalf of large communities. The article examines the way in which traditional leaders have repositioned themselves in the new democracy, what their source of support is, and why the African National Congress government has come to support these efforts.
The Role and Future of Traditional Leaders in South Africa
Koers, 1999
Traditional authorities p lay an important role in South Africa. N ot everyone is, however, prep a red to recognise them as role players. In governm ent circles, on the one hand, a tendency exists to marginalise the role o f traditional leaders and, on the other hand, a White Paper process is under way to spell out the role o f traditional leaders in the fu tu re dispensation. Traditional authorities are seen by their com munities as leaders through and by the people. In som e instances it is even stated that they receive their authority fro m God. Research done in the Province o f the North West, the Northern Province a n d the Province o f KwaZulu-Natal illustrates that in many o f the communities in which traditional leaders serve they are regarded as leaders and they are also seen as sym bols o f unity in the community. The idea that the system o f traditional leadership m ay be abolished was met by fierce resistance. Traditional leaders are recognised in terms o f section 211 o f the 1996 Constitution. The Constitution also recognises the possibility that national a n d provincial legislation m ay provide a role fo r traditional leaders at national, provincial and local level. Some o f the find in g s o f the above-m entioned research program m e illustrate that traditional leaders were used as political tools in the past a n d that they should refrain fro m participating in p a rty politics. Findings also highlighted the fa c t that the fra g m en ted legislation dealing with the recognition a n d functions o f traditional leaders (caused by the apartheid system) should be rationalised. Som e confusion still exists as to the role o f traditional
Local Government and Traditional Leadership in South Africa
There have been arguments whether traditional leadership is needed for rural development in democratic local governance. Arguments about traditional leadership in South Africa often result in the one whether customs based on traditional values are democratic. It is possible to lose the traditional value which has been historically produced in the society if the criterion to judge political meaning of traditional leadership is based on election. The influence which traditional leadership exercises has been recognized in rural areas. Therefore, the way of integrating and collaborating with traditional leadership is an urgent challenge for democratic South Africa.
2007
CHAPTER ONE democratic dispensation in such a way that the institution of traditional leadership plays a meaningful role in governance. Chapter Five: The main area of focus is the dominant debates around the African National Congress' position about the institution of traditional leadership. The researcher argues that it is precisely the ambiguous position adopted by the African National Congress many years ago which is still prevailing and thus making the negotiations about the role and function of traditional leaders untenable in the new political dispensation. The researcher further argues that it is this position that renders services in rural areas non-existent or slow. The chapter also looks at what the African National Congress puts forward as weaknesses in the institution of traditional leadership, including the discrimination of women in the succession battle for inclusion as traditional leaders. The politics of recognition also form part of this chapter. Chapter Six: The Socioeconomic demographic characteristics: For effecting a greater understanding of the area covered by the investigation, the historical background of where in the map uThungulu District is situated is given. The whole background of the situation as it is how people live, that is, what kind of work people of KwaZulu-Natal do and their poverty levels and educational level currently is also given. This is done to provide the reader with a mental picture of the situation in the areas covered by the study, again in order to make facts speak for themselves. In the final part of this chapter focus is turned on empirical data. The chapter will give a brief explanation of how collected data was analysed and interpreted. Furthermore, there is also executive summary of the International Conference on the Institution of Traditional Leadership. This part is based on the discussions and recommendations of the conference as well as the appendices as attached. This section must be read together with the appendices One to Four. Chapter Seven: General conclusions and recommendations. The researcher gives a number of recommendations which he believes would contribute positively towards the debate about the strategic positioning of the institution of traditional leadership in South
Using a combination of qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis methods, the aim of the study forming the basis of the article was to examine how traditional leadership can be harnessed for the purposes of service delivery at the local level in South Africa. Specifically, the study sought to examine the juxtaposition of traditional and modern forms of governance in South Africa (institutional duality) and the role traditional leaders play in the provision and delivery of social and economic services to the sections of the population within their jurisdictions. The results of the study confirmed the existence of this institutional duality with regard to the Southern African institutional culture. In other words, even though traditional leaders no longer wield the considerable administrative, legislative and judicial powers they used to exercise over the chiefdoms, they are still very much part of the institutional culture of South Africa and the sub-region.
The role of traditional authorities, particularly traditional leadership in the democratic South Africa (1994-2013) seems to be a complex and multifaceted process. When the African National Congress (ANC) came into power in May 1994, the party was faced with a mammoth task of incorporating traditional leaders in the local sphere of government. The study examines the socio-political role of traditional leaders in South Africa in post-apartheid period. Furthermore, the study aims at examining the factors and challenges contributing to the leadership discourse between the traditional leaders and some structures of the ANC, for example, the councillors as elected leaders. The findings from this study pointed to challenges such as values and perceptions of leadership styles as espoused by the traditional leaders versus the democratic way of leadership from the ANC structures. The above propelled the researchers to engage in an analytical research study of determining the relationship that existed between the traditional leaders and the local government structures in South Africa. On the basis of the findings of this study, recommendations are made for the fostering of harmonious working relationships between the traditional authorities and the councillors representing the ANC.